KELLY CAMPBELL

Richard Dunn

Her ball of energy has been a family topic since Kelly Campbell could

walk. From where, oh, where did this little girl come, her parents

must have thought.

With an overflowing spirit on the volleyball court and overall

zest for life, Campbell inspired teammates for years as a 6-foot

setter with unbelievable touch and endless emotions.

Campbell, of Corona del Mar High and the University of Colorado,

was such a fine athlete that during his freshman she competed in

track and field -- the only time in her prep career -- and wound up

finishing second in the CIF State Championships in the girls 3,200

meters. There was talk of the long-legged Campbell having Olympic

potential in distance running, but the following spring, she was

competing on Corona del Mar’s frosh-soph swimming team.

Campbell, you see, might have been a natural in running with her

effortless style, but volleyball captured her heart and eventually

paid the bills.

A member of the St. Louis Quest last year in the United States

Professional Volleyball league, Campbell is now in the Christian

Education master’s program at Azusa Pacific University and gearing up

for an exciting summer at the Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp, where she

will be the director for the first time. Campbell grew up attending

summer camps there and last year fulfilled a lifelong post-volleyball

dream of returning to Yosemite as a counselor.

“That really confirmed to me last year that I want to be involved

with the kids and the program and mentoring them,” said Campbell, who

lives in San Clemente, where the camp has an offseason office.

While Campbell, 25, is enjoying her first year away from

volleyball, the former U.S. national team member and two-time NCAA

All-American at Colorado is thrilled she decided to retire, because

the USPV pulled the plug on the 2003 campaign, leaving many players

to scramble, some of whom left for the European leagues.

But Campbell had already moved on. Her one-year stint working out

at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., with the

national team and subsequent six-month term with the Quest, was

enough.

“I just felt my time was up with (volleyball),” said Campbell, a

two-time All-CIF Southern Section Division I selection for Corona del

Mar (1994 and ‘95) and a member of CdM’s back-to-back national

championship teams in 1992 and ’93. “It’s not that I was burned out,

or disliked volleyball. There were just so many other things in life.

I loved that season of volleyball (in St. Louis) and what I learned

and how I grew. But ... there are so many other things out there that

I wanted to get into.”

Campbell, who knew driving out to St. Louis that the end of a long

line of assists was near, is crazy about kids and one of those

glass-is-always-half-full types. She’ll find the good in something

“even if it takes me all night,” she said.

During her amateur career, Campbell sparked CdM and Colorado, as

well as the Orange County Volleyball Club team. “Kelly Campbell was

amazing,” said club and collegiate teammate Melissa Schutz (Newport

Harbor). “She had an amazing spark. She had such great energy on the

court. She’s always upbeat and running all over the place. She was

great.”

Campbell, the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of

Fame, said her highlights include the relationships and friendships

formed while playing volleyball. “The people who I met along the way,

that’s the greatest part when I look back on my career in

volleyball,” she said.

A broadcast journalism major at Colorado (Class of 2000), Campbell

enjoyed a recent internship with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes

and, after moving back to the Southland from St. Louis, she

temporarily lived with her sister, Kristin, also a former standout

setter at CdM who became one of the top players in the history of

Duke women’s volleyball.